Are you aware of how much you flap around?

[CBulla]

interesting thread - i'm newly certified and went diving last weekend with a friend who is a more experienced diver and noticed that i did flap around more and used a lot more air that she did

any advice on how to slow down would be appreciated

It's all about relaxing my friend... do everything like the 6 million dollar man. "wahhhdaaadaaadaa....."

Once you relax and slow down you'll realize how little you have to do to accomplish what you choose to do.

 

[partridge]

Buoyancy also plays a huge part in air consumption. I noticed two students yesterday who were always slightly negative. So when we stopped to look at something they kept finning to stay level. And when we were moving they were not horizontal but about 30 degrees to keep level also. Part of the finning to move forward and part to stay up. That's a lot of flapping around and it burns up a lot of air.

 

[Canadian_Diver]

I'm wearing a set of Genesis Aquaflex.

Most of my buddies are wearing Scubapro Twin Jet split fins. In most cases, I noticed that they tend to have more kick strokes than I do when diving with them. However, air consumption varies, but typically, we all come up with roughly the same amount of air.

 

[dlegros]

I don't know about you, but wiggling my butt that way doesn't work u/w.

That's because you need to tie a fin to your butt

Dom

 

[alcina]

And for those who have a little more experience than the next guy, remember, you are being watched closely even if you don't know it. I often come up from a dive and get a shy word spoken about how relaxed I look and how nothing dangles & I don't hit stuff - even though I am clearly concentrating on my photos. (and I admit it's nice to hear kind words and be noticed for something good, no matter how many dives I have!)

It's also nice to positively reinforce the good skills you see underwater - a sincere "hey, I saw you on the dive and you really did well to keep those fin tips up" from someone with good skills goes a long way to helping people get better, in my experience.

 

[jiveturkey]

I don't know why they call it diving when floating achieves the best results.

 

[Diver0001]

That's because you need to tie a fin to your butt

Dom

LOOOLLL. Imagine that....

I wanted to reply to Submariner's post but I couldn't think of anything funny enough to say......I glad someone did!

R..

 

[DA Aquamaster]

Many variables, but essentially the faster you push something through a viscous fluid and more force required to change momentum (ie up to down) the more energy you will use - so kicking less will save energy at the cost of speed, its up to you what that balance should be.

Divers for the most part do not understand that parasitic drag is an exponential function. In other words, to go twice as fast in the water requires four times the power to overcome the increased drag.

Similarly, going the same speed but having twice the drag due to danglies, poor body postion, arms waving around, etc also requires four times the power.

Improper bouyancy control is another major power waster. I often see divers who maintain slightly negative bouyancy (often out of fear that they would otherwise end up in a out of control ascent) and then go around swimming at a slightly upward angle to get the thrust vector needed to maintain the desired depth. This requires them to continuously generate enough thrust to create a vector adequate to keep them "afloat". To make it even worse, it also puts them in a very high drag swimming position that in turn requires a lot more power to acheive the same horizontal speed. I usually notice them finning like mad while I coast past them on the long glide following my last fin stroke. It's extremely fortunate that staying in front of them is so easy as they also stir up massive amounts of silt.

The most important thing to be able to do under water is nothing. You should be able to swim and maneuver without moving your arms, maintain a level and streamlined body position, then be able to stop kicking, slowly glide to a stop and then just float there rising and falling slightly as you inhale and exhale.

 

[Rookie_J]

That's because you need to tie a fin to your butt

Dom

*snerk*

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

interesting thread - i'm newly certified and went diving last weekend with a friend who is a more experienced diver and noticed that i did flap around more and used a lot more air that she did

any advice on how to slow down would be appreciated

Yes ... the reason most newer divers fin a lot is because they require the motion in order to stay "neutral" in the water. Kind've like when you first learn how to ride a bike you need to maintain a certain speed in order not to fall over. In this case, learning buoyancy control is like learning how to balance yourself on a bike.

What you need first is to understand the concept that proper buoyancy control is linked to proper breathing control. Start with a weight check ... good buoyancy control requires proper weighting. There are many ways to accomplish this. The most effective one I've learned is to get your cylinder down to 500 psi, then in about 10 feet of water let all the air out of your BCD. When you breathe out you should sink ... and when you breathe in you should rise. If you cannot sink by breathing out, you are underweighted. If you cannot rise by breathing in, you are overweighted.

Once your weight is adjusted properly, practice hovering without using your fins. Learn how to control your state of buoyancy using your "fine tune" BCD ... i.e. your lungs. You should be able to sink by breathing out, and rise by breathing in, without messing with your power inflator. Start diving with your hands clasped together and your arms drawn in close to your body ... arm waving wastes a LOT of energy and only makes proper trim more difficult.

Once you've learned how to hover properly, you will be able to fin slowly and go where you want to go without excessive kicking.

The added benefit is that as you learn to slow down, you will start to notice all the cool little things you've been swimming past without ever seeing ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)